MRO AND SUPPLY CHAIN
GTF inspections push Asian shop turnarounds past 300 days
Powder-metal inspections are absorbing capacity across the region, and the binding constraint is technicians rather than hangars.
Aerospace Garage desk
Shop-visit turnaround times for geared turbofan engines have passed 300 days at several Asian facilities, against a normal cycle nearer 90. The cause is the powder-metal inspection programme, which pulled a large population of engines forward into unscheduled shop visits.
New capacity is being added — GMF AeroAsia and SIA Engineering have both announced expansions — but hangar space was never the limit. Licensed technicians and engine test cells are, and neither can be conjured in a quarter.
The consequence falls hardest on operators without spare-engine cover. Carriers in Indonesia, Vietnam and India are parking aircraft they own outright because there is no engine to hang on the wing.
Our read: watch spare-engine lease rates rather than shop announcements. They are the honest measure of how tight this actually is.
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